Unblock a sink in 10 minutes without using baking soda or vinegar
Experiencing a slow-draining sink or grappling with a foul odour? Chances are you're facing a clogged drain. The good news is, it's an easy fix.
Blocked drains are hardly unexpected, considering the daily cascade of food particles, soap, oils, and grease that travels down our pipes, inevitably leading to a build-up.
However, experts at Bright and Beautiful have let slip that the best way to tackle a clogged drain isn't with chemical cleaners, baking soda, or vinegar, but rather with soda crystals.
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They advise: "There's no need to call a plumber for most ordinary or non-severe blockages," reports the Express. "Try pouring boiling water down the sink, once it has drained away, fill a mug with soda crystals and pour it down the plughole."
So, what makes soda crystals the go-to solution?
We often turn to white vinegar and baking soda for cleaning duties, yet when combined, they can't produce a reaction robust enough to unseat the obstinate fatty grease in drains.
As separate entities, these materials also fall short vinegar as an acid, and baking soda as a weak alkaline substance won't do much more than create fizzy salty water, leaving the blockage untouched.
Thanks to their strong alkalinity, soda crystals make light work of breaking down acidic grease and fat, which then dissolve effortlessly in water.
One of the perks of soda crystals is their capacity to disintegrate organic build-ups too, making them perfect for unclogging bathroom sinks jammed up with hair or soap scum.
Here's a quick fix for a blocked drain that you can do at home:
Simply boil your kettle and pour the hot water down the drain.
Once that's drained away, chuck in a cup of soda crystals and let them sit for about five to 10 minutes; they need time to cut through any greasy clogs.
Then boil your kettle again and pour it slowly down to clear out the debris along with those soda crystals.
A plumbing guru advises, "To be extra sure your blockage has completely gone, empty a full kettle of hot water down the sink." Finishing off confidently, the expert claimed, "Et voila - your sink should be blockage-free! If you sink still doesn't drain, you should contact a plumber."